Just traded in your Blackberry for a shiny new iPhone? Here's how to transfer contacts from your old Blackberry to your new iPhone, and without buying anything extra along the way (completely free solution).

We'll do this in two main steps:

1. Transfer contacts from the Blackberry address book to Outlook on your computer (or Windows Mail).

2. Sync your iPhone with your computer using iTunes, which will transfer the contacts from Outlook to your iPhone.

Make sure that both the Blackberry Desktop Manager and iTunes are installed on your system, and that your Blackberry is connected to your computer with a usb data cable.

1. Transfer contacts from a Blackberry to Outlook

Run the Blackberry Desktop Manager program and click "Synchronize" from the main menu screen. Select "Synchronization" below the Configuration menu option to get to the Synchronization Configuration screen.

There you'll click the "Synchronization" button to configure the synchronization settings. (that was a mouthfull of synch-related words wasn't it? Hang in there)

You'll be asked to choose the device applications to synchronize. Choose "Address Book", and then choose "Outlook". If you don't have Outlook on your system, then you can choose "Windows Mail" instead.

Next you'll configure how you want to sync your contacts, either bi-directionally or just from your blackberry to Outlook (which is the option I chose):

Click "Next" and then "Finish" to complete the synchronization settings. This will take you back to the synchronization screen.

Make sure you check the option to "Synchronize organizer data". This is the setting that tells the program to sync your contacts.

Click the "Synchronize" button to copy the contacts from your Blackberry to your Outlook contacts. You can open Outlook after the sync has completed, and you should see your Blackberry addresses in your Outlook contacts folder.

2. Transfer contacts from Outlook to an iPhone

You can import Outlook contacts to your iPhone by syncing your iPhone with iTunes.

Plug your iPhone into your computer and wait for iTunes to automatically launch (or run iTunes from the Start menu if necessary).

Select your iPhone in iTunes, select the Info tab, and then click the checkboxes to sync your contacts. Choose Outlook as the application to sync with.

Click Apply, then click Sync.

This will copy the contacts from Outlook over to your iPhone. Remember however, that you can only sync your iPhone with one computer at a time. If you later decide to sync with another computer, your contacts will be erased.

Our work here is finished, and your Blackberry contacts will now be copied over to your iPhone.

I have managed to sync the bberry to outlook, but syncing outlook with iphone does not work.
After this my laptop started chrushing every time I conncect the iphone to it (showing a message that a still camera is connected?!)

You can do the exact same method, and transfer the contacts to windows contacts (instead of Outlook). It was very easy, the same directions. And the iPhone reads this as the source to import - easy as pie.

Note: it took me 30 minutes to do this because I had to find my BlackBerry tools CD and download that on my lap top first. Then I had a problem with wireless synchronization of my contacts on my BB which took a while to figure out how to turn off. (On contacts icon, select "options" to turn off wireless sync).

Wonderful! I thought I was going to have to input all of my old contacts by hand...all 300 of them. Thanks to you I don't have to, and it was so easy. No one at Best Buy or Walmart could tell me how to do it. You are my hero!

You solved a problem all the "experts" were baffled by - Orange shop staff were no help (as my iPhone is on Orange and Blackberry on Vodaphone), and work IT professionals promised to look in to it but didn't. With your clear instructions I was able to do the job reasonably easily, although my desktop was different and i had to fumble around turning wireless wynchronisation off and on. Thank you.

How can I do this with my macbook? If i go and do it on a PC with windows and outlook, when i plug the iphone back into my macbook, (lets say to download some music) will it delete the contact list from the iphone because i used somebody's itunes other than my own??

You have saved my sanity - got the 3GS iphone today after 10 years or so of dedicated BB use - with all the accumulated contacts - and thanks to your incredibly clear easy to follow instructions I am up and running with all my contacts in the new phone - painless and took twenty minutes. I cannot tell you how grateful I am - had reached the point of hurling iphone across the room when I found your site. Have you thought about applying your method to solving climate change, bringing peace to the world etc - should be a doddle for you - thanks again!!

I'm in a bit of a unique situation in that I'm on Mac Book Pro and using Entourage as my mailing system, so I can't download Outlook or the Blackberry Desktop Manager (BDM) for PC.

I've downloaded the BDM intended for Macs, thinking that I could sync my info it a similar way to the one you described, but to my Entourage instead of Outlook. Someone above mentioned that the BDM for Macs doesn't exist...but just FYI it does now. Unfortunately, however, the BDM options are a bit different for Macs. It doesn't appear to let you sync one way, and it doesn't appear to allow you to choose where you can sync the contacts to.

I'm in a bit of a unique situation in that I'm on Mac Book Pro and using Entourage as my mailing system, so I can't download Outlook or the Blackberry Desktop Manager (BDM) for PC.

I've downloaded the BDM intended for Macs, thinking that I could sync my info it a similar way to the one you described, but to my Entourage instead of Outlook. Someone above mentioned that the BDM for Macs doesn't exist...but just FYI it does now. Unfortunately, however, the BDM options are a bit different for Macs. It doesn't appear to let you sync one way, and it doesn't appear to allow you to choose where you can sync the contacts to.

Thank YOU! Somehow in the last 24 hours I've managed to get one desktop that won't boot up... with my Itunes library on it. Thankfully I have all songs on my 5th gen IPOD (although NO idea how to load them into a new ITunes library). I also have one HP mini less than two weeks old that wont boot up... BOOTMGR is compressed... I feel doomed! :-(

But somehow, I managed to get through your instructions perfectly and now my contacts are on my new Iphone. All is not lost. Thanks again!

I'm also going from Blackberry to iphone. I have done the actions you suggested in order to move contacts from blackberry to outlook express to iphone but ............... it has only transfered conatcts who have email addresses. Can you help?

I have managed to sync the bberry to outlook, but syncing outlook with iphone does not work.
After this my laptop started crushing every time I conncect the iphone to it (showing a message that a still camera is connected?!)